Hydrogen peroxide and other inorganic percompounds, in particular perborates and percarbonates, are active oxygen containing substances which are used for bleaching and for the simultaneous washing and bleaching of textile materials. These compounds typically have little bleaching activity at temperatures below about 60.degree. C.
Other known types of inorganic bleaching agents, which are more effective at temperatures below 60.degree. C., include persulfuric acid (sometimes known as Caro's Acid) and its salts and acid salts, and mixed salts, such as Oxone (trade name) which consists essentially of the compounds KHSO.sub.4, K.sub.2 SO.sub.4 and 2KHSO.sub.5.
Peroxydisulfates, such as K.sub.2 S.sub.2 O.sub.8, are generally too stable to act as effective bleaching agents. The rate of hydrolysis of peroxydisulfate to form the more reactive peroxymonsulfate is generally too slow to provide useful quantities of the latter under typical conditions of use in laundry functions. This is so even though such stability is desireable with respect to the shelf-life of the active oxygen.
A bleach composition effective at temperatures of from 40.degree. to 55.degree. C. is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,773,673. The bleach composition comprising a synergistic mixture of a persulfate and an organic peroxy compound in proportions such that the weight ratio of available oxygen derived from the persulfate to that derived from the organic peroxy compound is up to 3:1.
Activators are added to increase the action of a bleaching composition for low temperatures. U.S. Pat. No. 3,957,670 discloses a solid oxidizing and bleaching composition which contains an acylated oxamide as an activator for inorganic per-compounds, such as hydrogen peroxide or perborates, perphosphates, persilicates, persulfates and alkali metal peroxides.
Enzymes can also be used as activators for various compounds to release peroxides as bleaching agents. U.S. Pat. No. 4,421,668 discloses a liquid bleach composition comprising an alcohol oxidase enzyme and the corresponding alcohol which, upon interaction, forms a peroxide. U.S. Pat. No. 3,666,399 discloses a bleach composition containing a peroxydiphosphate and a phosphatase enzyme, which, upon the addition of water, forms a peroxymonophosphate.
None of the above references disclose the present invention of a bleach composition formed by the interaction of a sulfatase enzyme and a peroxydisulfate.